Primordial refers to a number of things: primordial is the setting, Puerto Azul in the tropics, San Cristobal Plateau in the Selva Negra Jungle; primordial is the anthropological subject matter pitting an archaeologist/anthropologist against a mystical tribe hiding an ancient remote village that no one in the civilized world knows about; primordial is also (and most importantly in this list of ascending importance,) the relationship between Dr. Keira Jessop and Special agent Zane Spinella of the Special Intelligence Agency. What we have here is an aptly named book.

The premise is that the SIA believes Keira's grandfather, Alysius Makepeace, honored curator of the Chesterham Museum, had been smuggling artifacts, but if Keira agrees to use her expertise for the SIA's benefit, they will drop the charges against her grandfather. Her co-spy is Zane, with whom she had a fleeting but intimate exchange when he saved her from the same smuggling ring once before. And there are built-in obstacles in their attitudes--Kiera's being blackmailed into this espionage assignment, and Zane is certain she's not an innocent bystander. Not only is Zane certain she's not innocent, he's convinced she's covering up some illegal secret knowledge about her grandfather; and, as far as her sexual innocence, he's carrying around some explosive passion

So here we have a raunchy hero, and an academic heroine forced together under perilous circumstances. The story was well on its way to working limited to these elements when the rumor of a were-jaguar surfaced in the story. Consequently I anticipated a trip thru the paranormal that never quite happened. The were-jaguar mythology is just an element of the story, central to the plot perhaps but not to the point-of-view characters. It is an element that is nicely woven in, (and one I hope is explored in future books,) but if you're a member of the shape-shifter fan club and you're looking for a hero to go a'shape-shiftin' with, it's not going to happen here.

That said, there's nothing missing from this book. This is Indiana Jones meets James Bond except no Bond movie was ever this hot, graphic, or mystical. Mystic sex in the jungle (with someone watching, no less) and danger threatening at every turn--this book earns its 4 1/2 quills.

Reviewed By Maîtresse

©March 2005